‘Prayer is simply a two-way conversation between you and God.’ That’s a simple but profound quote left to us by Billy Graham. But prayer seems to be the subject of a great many questions. How come? If you have questions, don’t feel bad. You’re in good company! The disciples had questions, too. They said to Jesus, Lord, teach us to pray. Jesus’ response is what we call the Lord’s Prayer or Model Prayer. But that’s not the only place we can learn about prayer.

Model Prayer: OLD TESTAMENT

Exodus 32 is a great primer on prayer. Moses went to Mt. Sinai to receive God’s law. He came down to find God’s people worshiping a golden calf. Something very important happened between those two events.

God told Moses to go down to the people. Then He told Moses to: Leave Me alone so My anger may burn against this sinful people – Exodus 32:10). If that happened, the people would be destroyed. While God could have remade the nation out of Moses and his descendants, Moses offered a prayer that can still teach us a great deal.

“O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'”

Prayer: What IS & ISN’T Said

Present in this prayer: 1) Desire for God’s glory, 2) Desire for God’s fame among the nations, 3) Desire that God not be mocked in the eyes of men.

Wanting another person to receive glory, fame, and not be mocked is easy to define as love. Love seeks the good of its object. To pray like Moses is more than a repetition of his words. It requires in us a passion for God and His glory. It requires a passion to see Him lifted up, even if that means I (the one praying) am not seen or noticed. He is the object of our affection and our prayers should be for His good, His glory, and His honor.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Some of life’s more challenging events have a way of putting things into proper perspective. Our recent mission to La Romana is just such an event. We are reminded of the important things, and that makes us realize we are so often consumed by the little things. This idea is addressed in a love note…

The love note is Song of Solomon. In chapter two, we read:

The man speaks–“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the secret place of the steep pathway, Let me see your form, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, And your form is lovely.”

She replies–“Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, while our vineyards are in blossom.” (2:14-15-NASB)

Do you see it? The big thing is their time together. She is not asking for protection from armies, lions, bears, etc. She is asking protection from a little thing that steals from them. She has, and models, a proper perspective.

In Unto the Hills, Billy Graham tells a story about a girl and her father. They enjoyed walks together and always kept an eye out for the many birds they would see. They enjoyed the changes of scenery each season would bring and they certainly enjoyed meeting different people with whom they crossed paths.

A day came that the girl didn’t come to walk with her father. She said she couldn’t go and he assumed it was just part of her growing up. Still, he was unhappy about walking alone.

After some weeks of walking alone, and continuing to be unhappy about it, he sat down to celebrate his birthday with his family. His daughter gave him some hand-made slippers which she lovingly fashioned during her father’s walks. Realizing what had been going on, the father said, “My darling, I like these slippers very much, but next time buy the slippers and let me have you all the days. I would rather have my child than anything she can make for me.”

How often do we present our Father with some work or labor? How often did that labor for Him get in the way of spending time with Him? Don’t misunderstand. The labors for Him and the Kingdom are important. But they are second to Him. The Ephesian church got that message. Their works were all in order, but they left their first love and lost perspective! The “little foxes” of busy-ness stole from them. Are they stealing from you?